About planning, maps and travelling

Something we have in common is that we are both incredible planners. We need to have our lives under control avoiding unexpected situations. Sometimes we say ‘What are we going to do this weekend? Let’s relax without planning anything’. Well, this is also a kind of planning for us.
Anyway, planning trips is normal for everybody, especially when you need to book planes and hotels in foreign countries or for a business trip. But in some cases it could be possible to leave without planning too much, for example when you do a trip by car and you have enough time available, you can also allow yourself to indulge on some details and to decide at the last moment.
In fact, we have different points of view regarding planning a trip.
For me the priorities are:
- what to see (cities, amenities, villages, art, etc.)
- where to sleep (I’m very selective regarding hotel rooms and especially bathrooms, which have to be very clean)
- what to eat and drink, where to shop
As I have a bad sense of orientation, I automatically forget to think about maps. I always think ‘Oh, we will find it, it’s easy!’
On the other hand Manu’s priorities are:
- where are the places to see
- where are the places to sleep
- where are the places to eat, drink, shop
- where is the closest hospital and which are the emergency numbers of the country (police, firemen, ambulance, etc.)
He accuses me of approximation (which I call “optimism”) and I accuse him of pessimism (which he calls foresight).
So, do you want to know what usually happens? Manu prepares dozens of different maps based on the places that I have selected. If we have to move somewhere walking, you will see me watching around unaware of where we are going and Manu with the map in his hand giving directions (and always exact ones!).
If we have to move by car and Manu is driving, I sit with dozens of maps on my knees and when the moment comes that I have to give him directions I first give very assertive instructions, then I start losing my sense of orientation (but still without confessing), then I start to panic, turning the map trying to find North, West, South… At this phase we are already on the opposite side of where we should be and in the middle of a big fight inside our car. Maybe it’s time to give up and admit that we need a car navigation system?